Arabesque

Not hundreds but thousands of posts about it. I never understand, when it is something that almost every single person experiences after their surgery & it can be so demoralising, that surgeons & support teams don’t warn & prepare people for it. Yes, it generally occurs around week 3 +/-. The stall can last 1-3 weeks. It likely won’t be your one & only. Your body shuts down to reassess your needs as a result of the weight you’ve lost so far. This is when your body resets things like your digestive hormones, etc. The stall will break when your body has made the adjustments & is ready to move forward again. Stick to your plan. Don’t stress your body more by making additional changes to your activity or food intake other than what your plan recommends or requires. While waiting fir the stall to break, celebrate the weight you’ve lost so far. It’s a fabulous achievement.

Yes it’s a forever thing. And yes, I think there are behaviours we have to also adopt forever. Like tracking for you & weighing myself regularly for me. But it’s easy to get complacent, or life throws crap in our way, old eating habits return, health issues & medication changes, etc, can get in our way. I’ve been a little complacent lately. Not sure why except weakening & testing things to see if I could be a little less narrow in my choices & how it would affect me. Learnt some things like I still can’t eat bread - hot cross bun sat like a ton weight & made me constipated - not Easter fun! I’m a proponent of adopting the small changes approach. Easier to adopt & adapt to one or two adjustments at a time than diving in the deep end. The pouch reset is a fairy story. You can’t reset your pouch but you can reset your thinking. Won’t be easy but we’re used to the hard work around losing & maintaining our weight. You got this @MandoGetsSleeved.

I was told the same thing too @ShoppGirl. It could be just another one of those some can & some can’t or depends upon what you’re eating (more or less dense food) or how far out you are. Like @ms.sss I can drink fairly close to eating, have the odd sip while eating solids but have to wait a while after to drink again. I still eat soup by drinking most of the broth component first then the solids. lol!

Used to take me 3 days to eat 2 scrambled eggs so I get it. It’s so strange to not want more than that. The portions slowly get larger though it took about 4 years to almost be able to eat 2 scrambled eggs & no sides. Lol!

Lots of nerves were cut during your surgery, so messages either don’t get through or are not like you know. It takes a good 8 weeks to heal from the surgery so this period of not understanding your cues will persist for a little while longer. It’s why it’s even more important to keep to the portion size recommendations you were given. (Mine was 1/4 - 1/3 cup from purée maximum). You don’t want to risk straining your poor tummy & all those sutures & staples holding it together or hindering your recovery. But if you feel discomfort or pain stop eating regardless of how much you’ve eaten. You can always have a little more of your portion later. Remember to ensure you’re taking small bites (I’d dip my teaspoon in so maybe a half teaspoon) and eat slowly (leave a couple of minutes between bites - aim for 20 minutes or so). Congrats on your surgery.

Yes, plans vary though generally the stages seem to be two week cycles: liquids, purées, soft, then more solid. Some stages are longer or shorter, some skip a step, some allow or advise avoiding different foods. Some plans are adjusted depending upon your progress & recovery. Have to say I’d go back to the surgeon & ask for clarification before the dietician at the moment. They know your medical situation better than the dietician & it is your surgeon’s plan you’re following at the moment. All the best & hope you get answers soon.

The textural aspect of purées can be a challenge for a few of us. Add in the changes to our taste buds &/or sense of smell & it can be extremely frustrating. Soups were my friend too. Plus yoghurt, thin instant oatmeal (made with milk), runny scrambled eggs (try poached). Mashed hard boiled eggs (mayo) were okay too. Even had some baby food a couple of times. I wasted a lot of food I puréed & couldn’t tolerate - puréed tinned fish was the absolute worst. Blah! I was glad I wasn’t interested in eating. Do stick to your plan. In a week or so you’ll be on soft food which is so much easier & purées will be only a bad memory.

I’d never heard about up them (they’re not available here so no wonder). I did notice they say to avoid if you have IBS or other gut conditions as they can upset your small intestine bacteria. Can cause bloating, diarrhoea, etc. too. May be see what your dietician & surgeon say especially with your revision.

In time, yes you’ll be able to take normal sized bites (whatever that is) but not big mouthfuls. You’ll notice as the weeks pass you can take more than just part of a teaspoon until you work out what size bite you are able to take. For me, it’s more not swallowing too much than the size of the bite. But smaller bites do help ensure you to take time to eat your meal & allow the message you’ve had enough to get through (takes a good 20+ minutes) & to think about your eating not mindlessly shovelling food in. You may find you don’t have to wait 30 mins before & after eating to drink & can get away with less time. Or you may be able to have the odd sip while you eat. Again this is an in time/eventually thing & working out what you can do as against anyone else. But remember, fluids will temporarily fill you & will flush food through your digestive system more quickly.

It’s about making the best choices you can in the situation you’re in & try to keep to your portion sizes. Recently I had a couple of takeaways with my brother’s family. Fish & chips - I ordered grilled fish & salad, dressing on the side. Vietnamese - prawn & noodle salad but left the noodles. I’ve ordered wrapless wraps in the past where I literally get served the wrap filling.And steamed gyoza or dumplings & eaten the filling only. Don’t forget to ask to take your left overs home. If you don’t eat them over subsequent days, someone in your family will - lol! Most places will make allowances to some point. Maybe you can order just the sides (salads or vegetables or eggs). Appetisers are usually the best for appropriate portion size but if those choices aren’t great maybe you could share a main meal with whoever you’re out with. Soups are always are great go to as well. And if the best choices really aren’t anywhere near best, don’t beat yourself up. Tomorrow is another day. As long as it doesn’t become a regular occurrence you’ll be fine. You can’t always control every aspect of your life.

I agree check with your team regarding if you can count it towards your protein goal. Generally it’s no because it doesn’t contain all the necessary amino acids though I believe there are some brands that add these additional amino acids. If you’re just taking it for general skin & hair health it won’t hurt. It won’t stop any of the hair loss though. That hair was going to fall out anyway as part of your natural hair shedding cycle. It’s just accelerated as a result of the surgery, anaesthesia & weight loss. Some people swear by taking supplements to stop the loss but they usually say it stopped after about 4+/- months exactly the same time frame as those who take nothing so … I took a collagen & silica supplement (powder) for a few months towards the end of my first year. Honestly, I can’t say if it did or didn’t do anything. Don’t know whether the quality of my skin & hair was a result of the collagen or just my weight stabilising & eating nutritious foods.

I think it’s about ensuring your blood is well oxygenated & also poor breathing and sleep affects your heart & blood pressure. But most importantly, sleep apnea puts you at higher risk with anaesthesia which slows your already compromised breathing resulting in complications during & immediately after surgery. Certainly worth a conversation with your surgeon & maybe your respiratory doctor as well.

Just read that cipro can cause nausea & vomiting so you may be vomiting from the med or from your healing tummy being vey sensitive at the moment. Is there an alternative antibiotic you could take? Also you can take it with food so maybe take it with your last sip of shake or soup or whatever to see if that helps. Certainly worth a conversation with your doctor. And yes it does get better. It takes a good 8 weeks to fully heal from what is a pretty major surgery. Plus you’re trying to wrap your head around all the changes & requirements of your plan. Allow yourself some grace during this time. But get used to the gurgling. Some of us continue to experience it in the long term. I say I have my own personal abdominal poltergeist rattling the chains, moaning & groaning. It’s just our digestive system working.

Some great advice from the others. Heartily recommend Drs Matthew Weiner & John Pilcher too.They are great sources of information. Try not eating until you feel full. Aim for had enough. I ask myself do I need that next bite or do I just want it. Remember to keep eating slowly too. It takes a good 20 minutes for your full message to get through (mine can take way longer than that). So by the time you feel full you can easily have eaten more than you need/should. Wouldn't hurt to check your portions & track your calories for a couple of weeks just to ensure you are not over estimating - it’s easy to do. Also, maybe check in with your dietician to review the best portion sizes & calorie goals for you for where you are now.

It’s not only a full time job but a lifetime job. I found eating & drinking to a routine very helpful while losing & maintaining. I still watch what I eat (nutrients & calories) & how much I eat. I know I can’t eat whatever I want otherwise I’ll be back where I started. Of course I have more flexibility now in regard to certain foods & how much & how often I have them. Some great suggestions from the others. You can start by slowly incorporating a couple every week or two & see how you go. While you are still losing it’s very important to stick closely to your eating plan. Though I would question a plan that says you can eat whatever you like at 4 months. Maybe go back to your dietician and ask for more guidance around your food choices, & ideas for ingredients or cooking styles you can swap in or incorporate. Also you may find speaking with a therapist helpful. Many do. A therapist will help you work through your eating & relationship with food, what drives you to eat, support you develop strategies to manage challenges like cravings. You can do this.

@ms.sss said exactly what I was going too. Done all those things too. I still have facial droop, nasolabial folds & jowls though my skin is more even in texture, tone & colour so still a win in my book. Unfortunately, the skin on your face has stretched just like the skin on your body. However, once your weight stabilisers, if it hasn’t yet, you will notice your body & face sort of resettles & you may notice you look a little better & brighter in the face. I’ve accepted this is how I look I mean I am almost 59 & I’ve earned this face. I take great pleasure in seeing the real shape of my face, having a jaw line, cheekbones & not having really droopy eyelids. I’m still vain enough though to keep up the Botox, filler, SecretRF (same as Morpheus8) & retinol, vitamin C, serums, & other aspects of my skin care routine. lol!

These things can & do happen. Constipation is often an ongoing issue for many of us at least until we’re eating a broader range of food like vegetables & fruit. Try adding a soluble fibre to a drink, shake, soup, yoghurt, or similar to help. I used to take a stool softener if I hadn’t gone for three days to keep on top of it. Remember too you’re not actually eating that much so you don’t have much to actually poop out especially in the first couple of months. So don’t expect to go every day. Meeting or being close to your daily fluid goal is extremely important because of dehydration. Sip, sip, sip. I still drink during the night to ensure I reach mine. (Have a drink whenever I wake.) Your throat can be swollen for a little while after the surgery though it does generally pass in a couple of days. Do mention it to your surgeon when you go for your check up if it’s soon otherwise give them a call. Try drinks at different temperatures in the meantime. Many of us found warm or hot drinks more soothing than cool or cold drinks. And again sip slowly. Also remember we all heal & recover in our own way & time. This is a pretty major surgery & some take a little longer or can experience some challenges with certain aspects like hitting fluid or protein goals, or experience a little more surgical pain, have more gas pain, take a little longer to get their strength back, tolerate or not tolerate certain flavours, textures, smells, etc. Like your weight loss, your recovery may be a bit erratic. Easier today, but tomorrow not as much, then the next day is okay. Look back over a week to better see your progress. You can be sure that it does get better & easier in time. All the best.

Aaah, vanity sizing. They’ve been slowly making clothing bigger for years but don’t change the size on the tag. No one wants to admit they’ve gotten bigger & need a larger size. 😉 I had an aunt who swore she’d always wore size 7 shoes but ignored that fact she was much, much larger than she was when she was young so her feet were larger too. She’d rather squeeze her feet into a too small shoe than admit she needed a larger size. Though I’m an Australian dress size 4 or 6, I wear size 10 knickers & my bras are a 10 band. I believe underwear is the only clothing items that have remained the most true to & consistent in size over the years. But then I do recall bra manufacturers making band sizes larger some years ago because women were getting broader across the back. Mmmm?? And don’t get me started on size guide measurements. With some brands, using their measurements I would need 1 or 2 sizes larger than I actually wear in the brand.

That’s interesting. Cultural differences?? It’s always promoted as Yum Cha here in Australia and we all call it that. Shall we go for Yum Cha? Does that Chinese offer Yum Cha? Funny the differences in terminology around food. Cookies - biscuits. Jelly - jam (not to be confused with marmalade). Romaine - Cos. Courgette -zucchini. All purpose flour - plain flour.Aubergine - eggplant. Fries - chips. Ketchup - tomato sauce. ….

Oh @ShoppGirl, this is why I was so so glad I never had to count carbs. I was just told keep carbs low and I still generally do (usually keep to two serves a day). I go by complex carbs are always better than simple carbs and low processed carbs cover highly processed ones so whole & multi grains wherever possible. And I ignore the carbs in fruit & vegetables - too many other good things in those. My thinking was those old food pyramids separated fruit & vegetables from ‘carbs’ so that was good enough for me. Have you spoke to your dietician about this conundrum? They may be your best source of guidance around this.

The pouch reset diet is an old wives tale. You can’t ‘reset’ your pouch. You can only reset your head & thinking. If you think you are eating more than you should, watch your portion sizes carefully & your frequency of meals. Portion control will always be something we have to take care with because as the months pass we are physically able to eat more. Our restriction eases. Our tummy, while still small softens & is more pliable. And our hunger returns. We can also learn how to eat around our smaller tummy. I was told to eat about a cup at 6 months but as your surgeon said everyone’s journey is different and you may have different needs in regard to how much, what & when you eat. Check with your dietician for the best portion size of proteins, vegetables, etc. & frequency of meals for you. Then you just have to keep to those recommendations. As I always say, all because you can (in this case eat more) doesn’t mean you should. I’m glad your surgeon is so supportive & is willing to look at other ways of helping you to lose more weight & get closer to where you want to be.

Chinese yum cha lunch with girl friends yesterday & a part way through my meal pxt. Half of the Moreton bay bug spring roll & one of the three prawn & scallop siu mai. Took about 45 minutes to eat it all but I was sipping a glass of Louis Roederer champagne & the bubbles were giving me a bit of trouble. Was still worth it though. Lol! PS - Bugs are a local lobster variety. Very yummy: sweet, rich.

The staged return to eating is in place for a reason - to protect your healing tummy. There are a lot of sutures & staples holding your poor digestive system together. If you had a 12 inch wound with stitches on your arm wouldn’t you do all you could to protect it & ensure you didn’t damage or strain it or hinder your recovery? It takes about 8 weeks to be healed from the surgery. Yes, foods (liquids) can taste awful after surgery & it can continue for a while until you are more fully healed. I found the shakes disgusting but you have alternatives. Thin soups like broths (bone broth are high in protein), consumes & cream soups (tomato, pumpkin, chicken, etc.). Just strain them to ensure there aren’t any random chunks of meat, vegetables, herbs, etc. in it. Make your own yoghurt drink by blending Greek yoghurt with milk to a thin consistency & add any flavour powders you may like. Protein water is another option. All these count towards your fluid goal during the liquid stage. Just sip, sip, sip. The portion recommendation I was given (1/3 - 1/4 cup) didn’t begin until purées so liquids were just three ‘meals’ (shake, soup) a day so a cup each. I diluted them to help with the flavour & texture (for the shakes) & didn’t care if it took hours to drink them. Plans can be different about caffeine but if yours is no caffeine try decaffeinated or green or herbal teas. I found warm drinks much easier to tolerate & soothing to drink.

Oh yes. Food for weeks. I still cook more than I need but I do it on purpose now because I love having leftovers. Simply freeze the leftovers/excess for easy meals on another day. Just bag it up in appropriate serving sizes. (I love zip lock bags.) My freezer is filled with single serves of soups, bolognese, savoury mince, steak, chops, savoury egg muffins, … chicken, beef, lamb & pork. Don’t feel like cooking? Just defrost a meal & all I have to cook or prep are vegetables or salad if needed. Bonus you only have to cook dinner from scratch a couple of times a week. Found it very useful for work lunches too. Popped one of my frozen meals in my bag & reheated it at work. Easy.

Would I be right in thinking your nutritionalist is recommending a keto like diet? They are big on no root vegetables & no corn, peas because of their naturally high sugar content. (Potatoes are often a no because they are considered a starch.) I regularly ate carrot & sugar snap peas. I threw frozen corn & peas into soups, mince dishes, some slow cooked dishes, omelettes, etc, I usually just microwave my vegetables with a splash of water & a dab of butter but also will stir fry & occasionally roast (especially cauliflower with a little hummus & zataar to serve). I love vegetables & enjoy them best simply with salt & pepper but don’t be afraid to try herbs & spices. The only vegetables I don’t eat is potato, sweet potato & pumpkin (they tend to sit heavily) except a very small piece (bite or two) with a roast dinner. My thoughts were & are vegetables are vegetables (except potato). They are highly nutritious (all those vitamins, minerals & fibre) so a valuable addition to our food choices. And the little we eat, especially in the first months will have minimal impact on your calorie intake & weight loss. I mean 1/4 cup peas is 30 calories if you can eat that much. Plus the ‘sweet’ vegetables are naturally sweet so they don’t count towards your sugar intake. Certainly didn’t affect my weight loss or maintenance. I say eat your vegetables, just watch portion size & what you serve or add to them. Like no honey glazed carrots, sour cream or cheese sauces at least for a while.